Admittedly, some leaders decide too quickly. They do not have adequate information. They have not listened well to others. They have not thought through the collateral issues.
But if hasty decision-making is an illness, hesitant decision-making is an epidemic. Too many leaders fail to lead because they simply fail to decide. By the time they make a decision, if they make one at all, opportunities have passed, constituents are frustrated and confidence is eroded.
So why are some leaders so hesitant to make timely decisions? I talked to a number of leaders and they offered me these eight reasons.
1. They overanalyze the situation. As a result, analysis paralysis takes over. The leader tries to examine the potential outcome from every angle. I recently read a 10-year-old strategic plan that was more than 200 pages long. I could not find one strategy that became a reality. The leader spent a lot of time studying and writing, but he was unable to pull the trigger on any major decision.
2. They get too comfortable. Decision-making typically means things are not going to be the way they always have been. A number of leaders don’t like change. They don’t like being pulled from their comfort zones, so they erroneously rationalize that no decision will result in no change. You often hear these leaders lamenting for the way things used to be.
3. They lack confidence. I recently spoke to a leader who shared a story about one of his direct reports. The subordinate is a gifted man with a great level of intellect. He intellectually knows what decision to make, but he lacks the confidence to make the decision. He starts second-guessing himself even before he has made a decision. Once he makes a decision, he is in misery anticipating a negative outcome.
4. They think it’s already too late. One leader lamented he did not make the decision in his 40s to do graduate study. He thought it was too late in life to take on such a work. Now that he’s in his 50s, he will not decide to go to graduate school because it’s even later. He’ll likely lament this decision in a few years. I had a student study under me who began his doctorate in his 80s. He wanted to be better prepared for his next phase of life.
